Yobe Police Arrest 14 Drug Dealers in Major Crackdown

Yobe Police arrest 14 suspected drug dealers in Jakusko raid

Yobe police say a raid on Buduwa Market in Jakusko has exposed a suspected drug network, after 14 people were arrested and more than 300 sachets and packages of tramadol, Indian hemp and other illicit substances were recovered. The case lands in a wider north-east security climate still shaped by insurgency, displacement and organised crime.

Atlantic Post

July 11, 2026

3–4 minutes

Drug Trafficking, Jakusko, Nigerian Security, Tramadol Abuse, Yobe Police Command, Yobe State

The Yobe State Police Command has arrested 14 suspected drug dealers and recovered more than 300 sachets and packages of suspected illicit drugs during a coordinated raid on criminal hideouts and drug joints in Jakusko Local Government Area.

The operation took place on Friday at about 2pm and targeted Buduwa Market as part of an intensified crackdown on drug trafficking and substance abuse across Yobe State.

Police spokesperson, SP Dungus Abdulkarim, said the exercise was led by the Area Commander, Gashua, with support from officers attached to Bade “A” Division, Bade “B” Division, Area Command Gashua, Garin Alkali Division, Yusufari Division and Jakusko Division, alongside members of the Peace Group Vigilante.

According to him, the operation was designed to dismantle criminal hideouts and disrupt the activities of suspected dealers operating within the market.

“The operation targeted criminal hideouts and drug joints at Buduwa Market, Jakusko Local Government Area. During the operation, fourteen suspects were arrested while engaging in the sale, consumption and abuse of illicit drugs and other intoxicating substances,” Abdulkarim said.

The police identified the suspects as Hamisu Umar, 20; Usman Wakili, 25; Aliyu Mohammed, 20; Hassan Ali, 35; Dudduwa Dorsha, 27; Adamu Hussaini, 27; Sale Adamu, 27; Adamu Umaru, 25; Babaru Hassan, 28; Dangi Maikudi, 22; Hassan Audu, 29; Abubakar Usman, 29; Ahmadu Waziri, 23; and Daudu Yusuf, 20.

Officers said the recovered items included Tramadol, Vega tablets, Indian hemp and other prohibited substances believed to have been intended for distribution and consumption.

Abdulkarim said investigations were ongoing, adding that the suspects were already providing useful information to investigators in a bid to trace other members of the network.

“Investigation is ongoing, and the suspects are assisting the Police with useful information to facilitate the arrest of other members of the criminal network. They will be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation,” he stated.

He further disclosed that the Commissioner of Police in Yobe State, Usman Kanfani Jibrin, had directed all Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers and Tactical Commanders to intensify raids on identified criminal hideouts and black spots across the state.

The commissioner, according to the command, described drug trafficking and substance abuse as major drivers of violent crime and other criminal activity, while reaffirming the police command’s zero-tolerance stance against the illicit drug trade.

The arrest comes against a wider security backdrop in north-eastern Nigeria, where the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe corridor remains affected by a long-running insurgency.

UNICEF says more than 5.9 million people require urgent humanitarian assistance in the BAY states, where armed conflict has disrupted lives and livelihoods for more than a decade.

Recent humanitarian reporting also shows that insurgent violence remained active in 2025 and into 2026, with attacks attributed to Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and other non-state armed groups still affecting the broader north-east.

That context matters because illicit drugs, including tramadol, sit within a wider criminal economy in which insecurity, displacement, youth vulnerability and weak market controls can overlap.

UNODC’s latest World Drug Report says the non-medical use of synthetic pharmaceuticals is a serious concern in parts of West and Central Africa, particularly tramadol, and notes that Africa accounted for 57 per cent of the total quantity of pharmaceutical opioids seized worldwide between 2019 and 2023, largely due to non-medical use of codeine and tramadol.

For Yobe, the police operation is likely to be read as part of a broader effort to choke off local supply chains that feed street-level addiction, petty crime and violent disorder.

The command’s message is clear: raids will continue, suspects will be charged after investigation, and residents are being urged to provide timely intelligence to help security agencies tighten pressure on criminal networks.